Life is short; seize the moment, count your blessings

Like water, be peaceful. Like earth, know balance. Like fire, be alive. Like wind, fly free. The power of the universe is within you. Gerrie would send text messages like these – wisdom forwarded rapidly through technology. She was very consistent in texting and every message perked up my day.

She would send enlightening words like: I asked God: How do I get the best out of life? God answered: Face the past without regret, handle your present with confidence, prepare for the future without fear.

She amused me with jokes and anecdotes: There is no difference between politicians and sperm. Only one in a million works and achieves something worthwhile. And she would follow it up with a light advice: Whatever gives you laughter, do it more often because it will bring lightness to your heart, energy for your body, and wonders for your soul.

Life In A Hurry

Gerrie Picar loved the full, adventurous life. She worked for the United Nations Development Program and was assigned in such exotic and controversial places like Hanoi, Mongolia (she once gave me a beautiful watercolor painting of its blue mountain ranges draped in snow), Pyong Yang in North Korea, and Bosnia.

She worked at the United Nations headquarters in New York and made the city that doesn’t sleep her home. I remember how one cold December evening, she and her brother Rody walked me to Fifth Avenue to get a ride to the airport, helping me with my impossibly heavy luggage full of pasalubongs and treasures salvaged from Manhattan antique shops and flea markets. Snow was falling and I was caught between the sadness of leaving New York lighted in full holiday glory and the excitement of being home for Christmas.

Gerrie had a well-composed air about her. She knew what she wanted in life and endeavored smartly to get it. She could be rufflingly frank and never hesitated to call a spade a spade. She was the best person to ask advice from because she had the enviable talent of easily distancing herself from your problem, then would analyze and prescribe a solution to unsnarl you from whatever situation you are caught in.

Home Sweet Home

With all her globetrotting, Gerrie was happy to re-settle in Manila after she retired from the UN. After her last assignment in Haiti, she came home to re-establish her roots and revive connections with relatives, batch mates from St. Scholastica, UP friends, and Sigma Delta sorority sisters.

As a way of giving back the blessings in her life, she became involved in a foundation that fed the poor and concerned herself with the nutrition of little children. When I published my second book, Living Alive, she immediately agreed to be one of my super angels, helping me with printing costs.

Then last August, Rody came home. Gerrie requested me not to tell our college friends that he was around; she just said that he came home for a special reason. I found out later that he came to see her because she was diagnosed with cancer that necessitated bone marrow transplant.

Inspiring Texts

Despite her health condition, Gerrie remained light at heart and positive. She would text to reassure that everything was under control and all medical protocol was going on smoothly. I can only guess what went on in her mind as she faced her uncertain future. How she must have appreciated each new morning and every glorious sunset, something that people like us take for granted.

I started to archive the insightful texts (I always keep a record of inspiring, funny, unusual texts) she sent me and other friends:

September 20: To be kind is more important than to be right. Sometimes all a person needs is not a brilliant mind that speaks but a patient heart that listens.

September 21: Sometimes God breaks our spirit to save our soul. He breaks our heart to make us whole. God sends us pain so we can be stronger. He sends us failure so we can be humble. He sends us illness so we can take better care of ourselves. He takes everything away from us so we can learn the value of everything He gave us. God bless your day!

September 23: You are part of the puzzle of someone else’s life. You may never know where you fit, but others will fill the holes in their lives with pieces of you. So if you run out of reasons to live, remember that someone else’s life may never be complete without you in it! Wish you a good weekend!

September 26: Never borrow from the future. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow and it doesn’t happen, you would have worried in vain. If it does happen, you would have worried twice.

September 29: It’s amazing to realize that living in simplicity gives contentment; we go as we came to this world and nothing is ours to keep! Hope today brings us joy. God bless you!

October 2: May the Lord God at this very hour bring you something special: a thought that makes you smile, a smile that warms your heart, and a heart that holds much happiness inside! Nice evening!

October 3: Lord, thank you for the people who enhance my life and make it meaningful by their love. Let them live under your care and bless them always. Amen. Warm wishes for today!

Lessons And Realizations

The October 3 text was the last I got from Gerrie. On October 10, I got a message from Cecile Ascalon, a dear UP Sigma Delta friend, saying we lost Gerrie that afternoon. I was shocked; I did not expect her to go that soon. Cecile texted that she couldn’t believe it, saying: "She asked for prayers last night … she was so alive!"

Rommel, another close friend, texted, "She looked good last time I saw her. She texted me yesterday and said, ‘Kumusta ka? Luv ya!’ Wasn’t able to reply to say the same thing and then I heard she was back at the hospital. Next thing, cardiac arrest, then expire."

Although we were texting regularly, I regret that I didn’t take time to visit Gerrie. I felt much better later when Rommel said that she really didn’t want to see visitors. I got flowers for the wake, but I realized one thing: People should send flowers to the living while they are still able to appreciate their beauty and the thought they are sent with.

At the wake, I was touched by all the outpouring of love from Gerrie’s friends as they recounted moments with her. E-mails from her friends from around the world flooded in. I confided to my UP close friends Emy Masigan-Mercado and Pearl Kapunan-Ortega that I couldn’t help but be envious of the love Gerrie’s friends had for her. Their friendship was joyful and so solid. They took care of her at the hospital and arranged all the after-death details.

Truly, God lends us everything and only He can decide when He wants it all back. All we can do is live by His grace and live our best life. Life is indeed short. Rommel adds, "Seize the moment, count your blessings, and be happy." And thank and pray for people like Gerrie who have left a beautiful, indelible mark in our lives.

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For your comments on this article and inquiry about the author’s life-enhancing seminars, e-mail deroseminar@yahoo.com. Happy Halloween, everyone!